Once Matthew jumped into the vehicle, the whip snapped and the carriage ran at the speed of the wind. The bumpy road made him bounce around his seat, and suddenly lurched forward when the vehicle swung hard to the right, almost sending him crashing on the wall across from him. Soon he realized that instead of following Arabella's carriage from a safe distance, his driver was trying to come abreast with it. Thumping his fist on the roof, he called out,
"Ewan, slow down a bit! We are not chasing them. We are following them and we don't want them to know.""Very well, Sir!"
He heard Ewan shout over the rumble of wheels. The carriage established a moderate pace afterwards, and after almost half an hour's drive, it gradually slowed down. Knowing that he had arrived at the end of the pursuit, he peered through the window.
Moonlight slanted across the empty street in front of a two story house surrounded by an ornate iron fence. A distance away from him, the Winthrop's carriage had pulled up in front of the front gates and within seconds, the portal slid open to let the vehicle in.
Stepping out of his carriage, Matthew stood at the side of the street and tipped back his head to look up at the row of French doors on the second floor. One of them must lead to Arabella's chamber. It took Matthew only a minute to ponder the idea for sneaking in before deciding to take the risk. Luckily the balconette outside the upstairs windows seemed perfect for his plan, but first he had to figure out which one was Arabella's chamber. As he observed his surroundings, from behind him came his driver's hesitant voice.
"Sir?""You can leave now, Ewan."
His driver seemed totally perplexed, but having known Ewan for years, Matthew knew the man wouldn't dare to be so presumptuous to question his actions.
"Uh... What time should I return to pick you up, Sir?"
"There will be no need."
Matthew replied as he fixed his gaze on the building. He only needed less than an hour to tell Arabella the whole tale behind his disappearance, but to make Arabella believe him might take the whole night, or even more. But no matter how long it took, he wouldn't stop until he could make things right again between them.He crept into a shadow of a tree as his carriage rattled past. Before long, lights began to shine from one of the upper windows, then another one. His eyes flickered between one window and the other as he tried to find a way to figure out which one was Arabella's. He must know for certain before climbing in. He wouldn't want to find himself in the Viscountess' room. The mental image of being discovered by the older woman filled him with dread.
After long minutes, the total lack of clues drove him to the point of near desperation, and then, as luck would have it, a slender figure appeared between the frame of one window, only to disappear the next second. He only got a second's glimpse but he'd seen enough to know that it was her.
Looking left to right to make sure no one was around he slunk across the street, and with cat-like ease, he climbed over the tall fence. He wasn't proud of his unsavory past, but now he was glad some of the tricks he learned back then proved to be of use.
*****
"That'll be all for now. You can go."
Arabella watched her personal maid picking up the discarded dress on the floor within the reflection of the mirror before taking her leave. Soon after the door closed in her wake, the silence that followed brought back the painful memories buried away in the far recesses of her mind. Before then, the intervention of Lord Bentley at the party and her mother's endless lecture on their way back had helped her push Matthew to the back of her mind, but now in the absence of distraction, her mind wandered back to him and a wave of shame and anger washed over her.

YOU ARE READING
Scoundrel With A Noble Heart (sequel of Disgraceful)
Historical FictionThe story follows the journey of Matthew, the little pickpocket once appears in Disgraceful, who has grown up to be an adolescent thug. His life takes a dramatic turn after he saves Arabella, a spirited young lady from robbery. Soon Matthew and Arab...